When heart attacks strike, every second counts. Recognizing the warning signs and responding immediately can make the difference between life and death. The Chest Pain Center is designed to treat and stabilize heart attack patients immediately, when the chances of recovering are the greatest.

The Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care has granted full accreditation to the Chest Pain Center at each of the hospitals of Community Healthcare System - Community Hospital, Munster, St. Catherine, East Chicago and St. Mary Medical Center, Hobart.

As Accredited Chest Pain Centers, our staff works seamlessly with area emergency medical services and hospital departments to assure that patients complaining of chest pain or discomfort are provided with immediate treatment that can help to limit potential heart damage.

A specialized cardiac emergency team is standing by 24 hours a day to administer the proper care the moment a patient with chest pain arrives to the hospital’s emergency department. The latest, state-of-the-art equipment, medications and testing procedures are close at hand to assess and stabilize the patient's condition.

Patients having a heart attack or chest pain have direct access to a variety of cardiac services, including:

• 24/7 full service cardiac catheterization labs, offering balloon angioplasty, stents, atherectomy and thrombolysis with blood clot dissolving drugs.
• Non-invasive diagnostic testing such as cardiac ultrasound, treadmill stress testing and nuclear images of the heart.
• Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programs.
• Participation in national cardiovascular clinical research trials.

What Are Your Risk Factors?

Know Your Cardiovascular Risk Factor – evaluate your health

Cardiovascular Risk Factors include:

• High blood pressure
• Smoking
• Diabetes/ high blood glucose
• High cholesterol
• Obesity
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Family history of cardiovascular disease

Early Heart Attack Care

Early Heart Attack CareTM (also known as EHAC) is an educational program that focuses on teaching the early signs and symptoms that someone may experience it they are having a heart attack.

Heart attack symptoms can be different in women and in the elderly.

Symptoms that are commonly seen in women are:

• Extreme feeling of fatigue 
• Back pain 
• Pain between the shoulder blades 
• Palpitations 
• Pain in the jaw 
• Shortness of Breath 
• Nausea 
• Indigestions 
• Loss of appetite
• Weakness
• Dizziness

Symptoms commonly seen in the elderly are:

• Generalized Weakness
• Stroke like symptoms
• Syncope
• Change in mental status
• Shortness of Breath
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Palpitations

Early Signs & Symptoms of a Heart Attack are:

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Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care 2016. Deputy Heart Attack™, Early Heart Attack Care™, and EHAC® are trademarks of Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. All Rights Reserved. For more information on SCPC accreditation, visit www.scpc.org.